Leonardo DiCaprio invests in FIA electric car series

MONACO (AP) — Catch him if you can: Leonardo DiCaprio is getting into the electric race-car business.

The Oscar-nominated actor announced Monday he’s partnering with Venturi Automobiles and will enter a team in the FIA Formula E Championship, which is the first series exclusively for electric cars. The DiCaprio-backed entry is the 10th and final entrant for the open-wheel series set to launch next year.

“The future of our planet depends on our ability to embrace fuel-efficient, clean-energy vehicles,” DiCaprio said in a statement. “Venturi Grand Prix has shown tremendous foresight in their decision to create an environmentally friendly racing team, and I am happy to be a part of this effort.”

“Very few environmental leaders have helped more than him to spread the message of sustainability around the world,” Agag said. “Having people like him and Richard Branson — global ambassadors for the environment — is a privilege for our championship and will greatly help us to spread the use of electric cars in cities around the planet.”

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The Venturi Grand Prix Formula E Team will also have as its co-founders Bert Hedaya, Francesco Costa and Gildo Pallanca Pastor, founder of Venturi Automobiles. Venturi Automobiles is the current holder of the world land speed record for an electric vehicle; a Buckeye Bullet 2.5 clocked 307 mph in 2010.

“Venturi has been a pioneer in electric high performance vehicles for more than a decade and Formula E gives us the fantastic opportunity to further improve our advanced technologies through motorsport, as well as compete all over the world,” Pastor said.
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